My First Car: '49 Mercury, Tom Whiteside, St. Petersburg

My first car was a 1949 Mercury four-door. My dad bought it for me in 1955 in Maywood, Calif., for $575. It was a cream puff, like new. I was 16 years old, but lied about my age (18) so I could work and get car insurance. I cruised all the cities around Los Angeles listening to rock 'n' roll and having a few drag races. Ahh, the good old days. That's me, changing a light bulb. I paid my dad back when I traded the 1949 for a 1954 Mercury two-door hardtop.